


But I Need You

by Franchisca



Series: Reverse Guardian Demons [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demonic Guardians, F/M, Light Angst, M/M, Mental Instability, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-08-28 18:06:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8456488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Franchisca/pseuds/Franchisca
Summary: Sequel to I Don't Deserve You.Bill Cipher has everything he's ever wanted. A Guardian Demon, Dipper, and his twin brother, Dot. To him life is finally falling into it's proper order. Dot has always had all he's ever needed, Mabel and space. Now thrown in the mix with Bill the past he's been trying to erase is getting harder and harder to forget especially when their Guardian Demons are so reluctant to be away from one another.Krystin is a bright spot in Dot's dark past. With abilities that Bill is wary of and a Guardian Demon that Mabel seems to know more about then she's letting on. How does everything fit together and just how much do we have to scratch below the surface before we can get any answers.





	1. Scars

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Everyone! Thanks for continuing the story, I'm really excited to keep this going. The summary for this story might end up getting changed, I like to keep things short and sweet so I don't give away too much. This is where everything becomes more then just a Demonic Guardian AU. The first part was heavily inspired by the comics that Starfleet Rambo drew up but this part is everything that my mind thought up. So strap in and get ready for the ride.  
> I had to flip a coin for the title of this sequel because I couldn't decide but I'm happy with it and it fits.
> 
> Obviously this picks up right after the epilogue of I Don't Deserve You so you shouldn't be that lost. :)

When Bill opened his eyes to the sight of a ceiling instead of trees he was briefly confused. He could feel his brows furrowing in irritation while he made to sit up, kicking off the blanket he was wrapped up in. Waking up to the sight of dead wood rather then the sight of leaves and trees could disorient anyone though. Since that was just silly he let it go. He knew where he was at least, he could have just as easily woken up in someone’s cellar. If he was going to wake up anywhere his attic room in Gravity Falls was a good place to be.

“Great, your awake!”

Just when Bill thought he might forgo the idea of premature wrinkles his brow furrowed again and he fell back into the wall his bed leaned against. The child in front of him had to be more then ten— eleven, twelve? He didn’t know, he wasn’t going to sit here and play a guessing game with himself. The kid was dressed like he was ready for a day out at play, thermal vest, faded sneakers. Brown curls framed the boy’s wide green eyes and Bill might have even admired the color if he weren’t so busy trying to figure out why they were so familiar.

“What the hell are you?”

Dipper cocked his head to the side and said, “What?”

“Yeah heard me.”

“Yeah, no. I know. I heard you, but you asked WHAT I am, not WHO I am.”

Bill scowled, “Yeah, because Fez doesn’t let just anybody in here and sometimes things from the forest crawl in here. They’re a lot sneakier.”

There was a split second where Dipper was going to argue how most of the creatures he’d sensed or watched dance along the edge of the forest early that morning probably would have liked to be known as a who but he stopped himself facing the more significant problem. Bill was sitting there looking at him confused and questioning. That was odd, for lack of a better word. He knew when Bill finally came around to himself that there might be an initial loud of unawareness but this seemed a little excessive. Had he missed a piece.

“So what are you?” Dipper was snapped out of his thoughts and decided that the only way to answer was with action. Popping back into his Demon form he halfway expected Bill to blow up at him the way the he had the first time Dipper appeared to him. What he hadn’t expected was the blank look Bill gave him. It was obvious that the gears in Bill’s head were turning and sputtering. It was moments like this he wished had the sort of access Mabel had to someone’s emotions. He’d give anything to know what was going through Bill’s head. He was powerful in many ways but he was no mind reader.

“I don’t remember,” Bill started, his whole body was tense and that unnerved Dipper. “I don’t remember you waking up, Pine Tree. Why don’t I remember?”

The suspicion Dipper was facing was frightening. When he’d finally managed to trace Bill from the forest back to the house last night he’d been well aware of what had happened. All he had to do was look at the evidence to put together the pieces. He’d managed to get there just in time, watching as Bill struggled to hold on to the last scrap of sanity in his mind. Gold eyes were flashing and immediately upon contact Dipper felt what little reality, was left in Bill.

It was hard to explain the kind of power Dipper had. Other Demons called him a Demon of Reality because if it existed in reality he had power over it, which apparently also made him all knowing. It wasn’t true though, he didn’t know everything —he learned just like anyone else did. It just so happened that he learned a lot and it was all based in fact and reality. His magic was almost like science, he could tear an entire building down with a look just by his knowledge of architecture. Or he could delicately pull together the pieces of a mind losing it’s grip on what was real because everything real was in his domain.

“Why do you think?” Dipper deadpanned, Bill winced. The Guardian hadn’t intended it to come out so cold. Bill would be fragile, he knew that but how fragile was yet to be determined. And he knew things now. Dipper knew things that he needed to talk to Bill about but not now, he couldn’t risk another break.

“This is stupid.” Bill said, cutting through Dipper’s thoughts — a talent in itself when the Guardian got going. Teeth grit and white knuckled Bill fought back the temper he felt rising. He was destructive when he was upset, even he knew this, and on any other day he’d just go for it. Today felt so different though and he couldn’t pinpoint it. Normally he couldn’t rationalize, he’d impulsively throw himself into the fire and he couldn’t. He wanted to but it was like he could physically feel reason sink in and tell him to ask questions instead of fly off the handle. He wasn’t used to this. “Pine Tree, what happened?”

There was only a brief pause where Dipper returned to his more physical self and sat on the edge of the bed. “You attacked your family,” it was probably best not to beat around the bush.

It was almost like Dipper hadn’t dropped a proverbial bomb. Bill’s amber eyes barely flickered, he just faced down his Guardian before finally he took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.

Dipper beat him there.

“Don’t.” His command was soft but no less powerful. Bill couldn’t help but be surprised looking at his Guardian, this boy, on the edge of his bed. It was almost tangible how uncomfortable Dipper was with using any sort of force against him and yet he still did. It was confusing. “I don’t know what to do with everything I’ve learned, Bill. When I met you I already knew why it took so long for me to get to you. I knew something was wrong and I thought if I could just figure it out, let you open up to me that I could fix it. I really wish I didn’t know now.”

“I want to be mad at you.” Bill turned away as he spoke. “I really, really do. But I can’t, because I know I deserve it, somehow.” It was much a confession as he was going to give, he didn’t know how else to explain what he couldn’t remember.

Dipper frowned.

“You talked to Dot last night. I didn’t hear everything, but you were apologizing when I finally tuned into it. I am going to assume you don’t remember any of that either?” Bill shook his head. “Okay, well, I guess he can talk to you about that.”

Silence engulfed the room as the two sat there. The only sound was the flapping of bird wings as they went passed the triangle shaped window or the ticking of the old alarm clock Bill kept on his nightstand. There were a million things hanging unsaid between the two but it was impossible to pick just one thing. For the first time in a very long time there was a sense of remorse giving Bill a bad taste at the back of his throat. In some way he knew it was a result of whatever Dipper had done to stop his mind from feeling so fuzzy but it didn’t mean he had to like it.

“So,” Bill started and Dipper jumped at the sudden word, “do you eat like Shooting Star does?”

“No one eats like Mabel does.” A smile tugged at both of their lips, small but visible to the other. “I could go for something though. Happy birthday, by the way.”

Bill’s smiled briefly wavered in it’s confusion. “Uh, thanks.” 

* * *

 

The clock had read somewhere around 10 a.m. when Dot finally padded out of his room. The sun shinning it was impossibly bright. He was used to waking up much earlier when the sun wasn’t so high in the sky. He swore to himself never to sleep in again, it wasn’t worth nearly losing his eyesight. Mabel must have felt the same way because when he’d fully woken up he was only sharing his bed with Cuddles. The sound of clinking pans and the smell of eggs told him exactly where she might be though.

Standing in the doorway to the kitchen he almost had a brief moment of panic as last nights events flashed through his minds eye. Bill still had a knife in his hands but instead of holding it against someone he was finally chopping an onion, his concentration looking to be only on the methodic thump of the knife on the cutting board. At the table was Mabel carefully trying to string a couple of beads together, one tongue out. Beside her was Dipper his face completely hidden by the large book in his hands; Dot recognized it as the one GIF had given to Bill. The scene was warm and Dot tried hard to swallow.

Bill was the first one to look up. A smile broke out across his face as he threw the onions onto the hot pan letting them sizzle and spit oil. “Morning, I’ll be done in just a minute, take a seat for now.”

“Morning,” both Mabel and Dipper chimed, still very focused on their own individual activities.

Dot ran a hand through Mabel’s hair, sitting down between the Guardians. A quick glance around said Bill had been up for a while and that no one else was around. He furrowed his brow and asked, “Where’s Stan?”

“Hmm?” Bill maneuvered the large amount of eggs in the pan into separate rolls, he looked to be pretty good at it. “He’s where he is every morning, at the shop with Aunt Mo.”

“No, I mean, he’s usually the one making breakfast.”

The clatter of the spatula dropping on the ground and Bill’s cursing had Dot out of his chair but not faster then Dipper who seemed to pop up beside Bill almost instantaneously. It looked like Bill had flipped the omelet wrong and sent a spatter of oil across his arm.

“I’m okay,” Bill said trying to snatch the spatula back from Dipper who had picked it up.

“Go run it under cold water. I’ll finish.” Dipper was already fixing the almost broken omelet and lowering the temperature on the stove.

“I’ll just put some ice on it,” Bill was whacked with the spatula.

“You aren’t stupid, Cipher, ice will do more damage on a burn then good.”

“So you’re saying I could have a cool scar if I use ice?”

“If by cool scar you mean shiny patches of skin that look like burnt cheese, then yeah.”

“Eww,” Both Bill and Mabel said in unison, the latter snickering while Bill gave in and put his arm under the sink.

“You guys seem to be doing alright.” All eyes turned to Dot, whose own eyes widened at the realization that he’d said that out loud. “Uhm…”

“It’s fine,” Bill said, his tone utterly void of any real emotion. It didn’t seem like Bill was trying to contain or repress anything. He was sincere. It was fine because he didn’t know for it be anything else but fine. “I don’t know what happened. I can’t remember last night really.”

Dot’s brow furrowed. “Nothing?”

“I remember walking home and everything got really, I don’t know how to put it, wrong. It went wrong. But,” the blond’s face twisted in concentration. The memory of moonlight spilling over them as they sat together briefly flashed in his mind’s eye but it hurt to force it. “I don’t even remember going back to my room.” That last part was quieter and almost like a question.

How convenient, Dot thought, that he would forget the only time he’d ever apologized for anything. But had Bill and Dot ever truly talked about that night? Dot had been taken away so quickly and thrust haphazardly into a lie he wasn’t prepared to tell. When they saw each other there was always glass or a security guard between them, or Mabel. Dot glanced over at her; she was keeping careful watch between the two of them. He hadn’t been around to hear his brother’s side of the story and he’d never asked because frankly, he’d witnessed it. Dot could remember every single word that Bill had said to him, pleading with him to take the fall. Surely he remembered that.

“Bill,” Dipper said, effectively cutting Dot off as he was about to address his brother, arranging the omelets on individual plates carefully before turning back to his charge. “Go bandage yourself up and get that Birthday present you got for Dot.”

“Bossy today aren’t we, Pine Tree?”  
  
“I am not bossy,” Dipper sputtered, even though Bill left the room and hurried up the stairs.

“You kinda are, bro, but I get it. Bill needs a strong hand.” Mabel clapped her hands and a brightly colored box popped up in front of her. “Thanks for reminding me though!”

“Dot,” Dipper placed a plate in front of Dot effectively grabbing his attention. “I know something isn’t right; between you two I mean. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t ask Mabel what happened to push your guys so far apart from each other and I’d be lying if I said if I didn’t already know that it was all a lie.”

“Wh-what?” Dot’s mouth went completely dry and he swore his heartbeat was more audible then it had been only seconds ago. He tried to form words but he couldn’t get the cotton taste out of his mouth. This time his gaze darted over to Mabel and stayed there. Did she know?

Dipper took mercy on him, answering the unsaid question. “She’s not stupid, Dot. She’s just really trusting. What I see, I know. That’s what other Demons usually say about me. That’s not true, I don’t just know things. I learn them and the more I know the more power I have over it. What I learned last night gave me what I needed to start patching Bill up. But it won’t take much to undo it all. Bill only needs one crack to start Weirdmaggedon.”

Nodding his head Dot still hadn’t looked from Mabel. Her large eyes were looking at him no differently then before and he didn’t know what to make of that. Swallowing air Dot whispered, “So you guys are just okay with all this?”

“I’m your Guardian,” Mabel’s voice was so bright, so trusting. “You couldn’t really tell me anything underneath the guard’s noses and I never really asked about all the details. You didn’t need to be there but you were and I’m probably never gonna understand why but it can’t be helped.”

“I’m not okay.” Dipper said with a soft huff of aggravation. “Bill’s unstable and he practically ruined your life, Dot. As his Guardian I need to take care of him, watch him. B-but, there’s no rules that say I have to like him. I can maintain this form only as long as he’s willing to let me learn from him but if he shuts me out again… He’s coming back down.”

Bill rounded the corner almost immediately holding a brown box in his hands. The lopsided grin on his lips insinuating he hadn’t heard anything Dipper -who was now happily munching on his omelet- said not moments ago. His arm had a couple of bandaids where the larger splatters landed. In a way it was comforting to know that Bill was listening to someone besides himself. Then again he really hadn’t learned the dynamic Bill had with Aunt Mo and Stan.

“So Stan made you guys breakfast?” Bill asked as he plopped himself down in front of a plate of still warm eggs and veggies. “I didn’t even know he still knew how to cook.”

“Why wouldn’t he? I mean he feeds Aunt Mo, right?” Dot took a bite of the food and despite the amount of onions he’d seen before it was actually pretty good. That might have been the bits of sausage talking though.

“Yeah, but lately it hasn’t been cooking. He goes out and grabs something for her. Maybe he started again while I was in school. The last time I remember him cooking was a few years ago, his specialty, Stancakes.” Bill pointed his fork at Mabel who was opening a jar of gummy bears, “Hey don’t go adding stuff until you at least try it, Shooting Star.”

Begrudgingly Mabel took a small bite before tossing a couple of bears into her mouth. All three other occupants cringed at the sight. While Dot loved the candy when he was studying both he and Bill had never developed much of a sweet tooth since they’d never been allowed to have them as kids. The sight of someone else’s insatiable appetite only made their teeth hurt. Shaking his head from the sight Bill pushed his box over to Dot.

“Open it, I got it almost the day after I first saw you again. Pine Tree didn’t think I’d get the chance to give it to you but I held out hope.”

“No, wait, mine first.” Pushing her own box toward him Mabel nudged her charge from his other side. It was a familiar size to Dot and despite the dark cloud that he could feel forming over his head he smiled graciously. Mabel was his light and so long as she continued to shine the dark spots in his life would never be completely pitch black. He pulled back the paper’s shiny blue to reveal the box and slowly —to Mabel’s obvious annoyance and his humor— lifted the lid.

“It’s beautiful, really Mabel. You really outdid yourself this year.”

Lifting the sweater out of the box it was a pale indigo color and so light that he could wear it on brisker days in San Francisco instead of waiting till the colder season. The pattern she’d chosen this year was a combination of diamonds and stripes in a darker shade then the base color. He might have an entire closet dedicated to sweaters Mabel had made him but the special ones were always for his birthday; This would be number nine.

“Wait, one more thing.”

“But this is perfect, why…” Dot’s words died on his lips as she lifted from the box one more thing. It was a black bowler hat not unlike the one he’d already owned except for this one’s pristine condition and silk band that he knew probably matched his eye color to the T. When he’d bought his first one last year out of a thrift store Mabel had laughed. She said it made him look to serious. He’d explained how he wanted people to take him seriously and it was just modern enough to not be ostentatious.

“Do you like it?” Mabel’s large eyes looked up at him expectantly. “I made it while you were sleeping, it was really hard not to add just a little bit more to it but I can!”

Dot laughed, “No, no, Mabel this is amazing, it looks amazing. I just. Thank you.” She beamed, her smile a million watts bright and almost blinding. His heart held so much adoration for his Guardian, he was so lucky.

Then Bill was pressing his gift into his side one more time. “My turn.”

The gift was decently sized in length probably about the length of his arm. Dot shot his brother a look but Bill just seemed pleased with himself. “I didn’t get anything for you.”

This did not deter Bill. “You’re here to give it to. That’s fine with me.”

Dot bit back the comment about how cheesy that line was and opened the long brown box with the scrawl Happy Birthday, Dot across the top. Inside was probably the last thing he expected (severed thumb was somewhere in the top three of the list of things he did expect). Long and sleek it was an umbrella, it’s pointed end gleaming in silver and along the curved leather handle where it meet the shiny aluminum of the shaft was the silvery script Dot Matrix. It looked antique but was certainly made of more modern material.

“Perfect, we can throw out that old ratty red one,” Mabel was leaning over the box now, peering in at the gift. Dot made a sound of affirmation before reaching in to pull it out. It was heavier in his hand then he expected. He twisted the top of the handle experimentally and jumped as the umbrella unfolded. It was somewhat large but not overly so.

“The city get’s a lot rainier then over the bridge on my side of things so it seemed appropriate.”

“He was gonna weaponize it.” Dipper said over a mouthful of egg and cheese.

“What?” Dot looked affronted.

“Hey,” Bill raised his hands in defense, “I didn’t, okay. It was just an idea I didn’t know if you knew how to defend yourself or not. Better safe then sorry.”

Dot closed the umbrella back up and cocked a brow at his brother, “The question is whether you can. As part of my anger management they had me do a few martial arts things on dummies once a week.”

With a laugh Bill nodded, “I know something about anger management, Stan had me kickboxing almost a month after coming here. Taught me himself.”

It was almost relatable.

“So what’d you get Bill?” Mabel said, turning to her brother. Dipper looked at his sister and nearly choked on the last bite of his food. “You did get him something, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” Dipper swallowed hard and laughed nervously under his breath. “Of course, I did, Mabel. I’m not completely brain dead. Ah…” Dipper reached into the vest that he wore and withdrew from within it a large voluminous leather bound book. When he dropped it on the table Dot reached out to steady his plate. “Sorry it’s not wrapped.” The Guardian’s cheeks were red and he tried not to look at his sister who threw a gummy bear at his head.

“Dipper Pines, did you forget to get your charge a birthday present?” Another gummy bear. “This is your first birthday with him and you completely forget.” Two gummy bears. “Then you don’t even have the nerve to say sorry, you just hand him homework!”

“Hey, if you haven’t noticed yet, Mabel, I’ve been unconscious and I’m not exactly good with a needle and thread the same way you are. What should I have got him? A hand turkey?”

“It would have been better then forgetting.”

“Wow.” Dot had reached over to stop Mabel from pelting her brother with more of the candy that he undoubtedly knew she had an unlimited supply of but he stopped at the sound of his brother’s breathless word. The Guardians froze as well and turned their attention to the blond who was thumbing through the first pages of the book.

Leaning over his brother to get a better look, Dot saw diagrams on the worn antique pages of the book. There was a messy scrawl in the margins of the book but still legible despite the years. Bill looked up at his brother and Dot’s breath caught in his throat. His eyes shone gold, not the sick gold that represented something more sinister, this gold was warm and almost like liquid. Dot couldn’t find it in him not to smile back when Bill’s own smile nearly split his face him half. Bill turned back to Dipper.

“This is amazing. I, I love it. Thank you.” Bill closed the book and ran his hands over the golden script on the worn leather texture it read, Mindscape: A Guide to Dream Walking.

“I’ve had this book as long as I can remember.” Dipper said, “But it doesn’t fit me. I’m not a demon of the mind, let alone dreams, I deal best with what the mind perceives and it perceives what’s real. You live in your head a lot though. I think it’s perfect for you.”

“Yeah, me too.” Bill said. The two shared a look and it was almost comfortable. For a second Dipper felt warm, he felt as if things really were okay even if just for a second.

He missed the frown on Mabel’s lips, her green eyes downcast.

 

* * *

 

_I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut_  
_My weakness is that I care too much_  
_And our scars remind us that the past is real_  
_I tear my heart open just to feel_


	2. Ain't it Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say right here because I'm building up and introducing the plot.

“We didn’t even tell them where we’re going.”

“It’s fine.”

“Won’t they worry?”

“Nah.”

“They seemed pretty worried when you were gone for four days.”

“Really?”

Silence.

“I thought so.”

“Okay but you weren’t anymore then an hour away maybe. This is, is… where are we going again?”

“Portland.”

“Portland? That’s, what, three hours away?”

“Sure, but I’m the one driving. It’ll take us two.”

“Are you even allowed to use the car?”

“I do this all the time.”

Bill was laughing, tossing his head back as the wind whipped through the blond of his hair. It was as wild as its possessor and Dot was more then slightly worried about the sharp turns and spurts of high speed Bill seemed inclined to make on their journey out of Gravity Falls. After breakfast Bill had asked Dot what he was going to do. One insinuation that he might see Krystin and suddenly they’re in a car on their way to some summer fair in the largest city Oregon had to offer. Maybe Dot would have fought harder if not for Mabel’s insistence that it would be fun. Dipper had been the only one on his side about staying in town but it seemed the more cautious of the twins were quickly overturned by their more rambunctious ones.

The last birthday they spent together was their tenth. Mother and Father had both ignored it, as they always did, and they’d grown out of Nanny when they were six who at least gave them each a sweet for growing another year older. They had a housemaid but she didn’t work everyday and their birthday had been one of those days. They spent that birthday talking about all the things they would do with their future birthdays. A sweet sixteen where they would go to a pool with friends from school. They’d buy fifty lotto cards each when they turned eighteen and on their twenty first they’d go to Las Vegas; even back then Dot had been pretty amazing at counting cards when they watched Father play with his friends.

Now it seemed Bill was determined to make up for it and Mabel was just going along with it. Dipper, sitting in the back seat with his sister, nose in a book barely said much. It was almost as if this was all something he was used to. He probably was if Dot really thought about it. Bill was impulsive and Dipper’s twin was no less prone to jumping the gun. Oh God, what had Dot gotten himself into? He should have stood his ground firmer. When Dipper talked to him about being upset with Bill he thought that just maybe he could ween himself away from Bill and run off at the next chance back to San Francisco. One glance at Mabel told him that probably wasn’t going to happen.

She’d grown quiet during the rest of breakfast but now she was smiling and making weak attempts at trying to pull the book away from Dipper. He’d humor her for a second and then go back to reading. It was seamless, their interaction. There wasn’t any doubt that they loved each other.

“We could do that, right, Dot?” Mabel’s bubbly voice cut through the fog of Dot’s mind. Bill was grinning, eyes still, fortunately, on the road.

“Yeah, sure …what?” Dot asked, sheepishly admitting that he hadn’t been listening.

Bill watched Dot out of the corner of his eye as Mabel chastised him about not listening and felt something warm in his chest. He’d imagined moments like this, moments where it was just him and Dot and their Guardians. Of course he imagined Dot laughing just as much and his own Guardian to be less bookish but this was okay, this he could live with. For now at least. He could live with this so long as the gnawing feeling somewhere in his body stayed at bay. The one that made him impulsive and prone to aloof responses. If he could keep that side of him at bay, maybe Dot would stay.

Bill looked up at the rearview mirror and took in Dipper trying desperately to explain something to his sister. His Guardian had worked hard for something Bill had near no recollection of. Dot hadn’t helped, barely bringing up what they’d talked about the night before. How was Bill supposed to fix the problem if no one was giving him a chance? They skirted around topics and part of him knew they’d easily been swayed into the car because they were being sensitive towards him. He never asked them to but when he’d shot Dipper a questioning look he’d only gotten a vaguely disinterested eye roll. What was that even about?

As Bill had predicted earlier they made the trip to Portland in two hours. The whole way Mabel had sung and bounced back and forth between incessantly talking everyone’s ear off. Her energy was almost too much for Bill but he found himself eased instead. Both Dot and Dipper remained quiet for the most part, each with small fond smiles. It left Bill to spend the drive contemplating the way Guardians and Charges matched. Anyone might think that Mabel’s bright and chaotically positive disposition might be more suited for Bill and that Dipper’s quiet and studious tendencies might be more indicative of a match for Dot. Hell, even Bill thought so sometimes. Still…

“Who feel’s like disproving a psychic?” They’d just arrived at what looked to be the epicenter of the festival and Dipper had made a beeline for the pamphlets that contained basic information and schedules. He had it open and stood in front of Bill, avoiding the taller people walking around them other Guardian’s in the area nodding in greeting to which Mabel seemed enthused enough to respond for both twins.

“A psychic?” Dot inquired, holding Mabel’s hand almost protectively. Bill held back a remark that it should have been the other way around.

“Yeah. There was this one that came on campus and he wasn’t half bad until he made the mistake of calling on Bill as a volunteer. This one’s claiming to be all real but I bet it’s just another phony.”

“When you say Bill saw right through it…” Dot let the question hang open.

“He made them cry.”

“Of course he did.”

Bill laughed, “Aw, Pine Tree, you are more devious then I thought. Sure let’s do it and then we can do some of the games. These look way better then the ones from the music festival in Gravity Falls.”

“We have to ride some rides too before we leave,” Mabel said as they began following Dipper, who was weaving his way through the crowd. “And get cotton candy, popcorn too. A funhouse! We have to go in the funhouse!”

The group made their way through the throng of people and while Dipper was doing well at navigating it didn’t stop other people from trying to shove kid-like Guardian over. It seemed for a second someone was going to say something about the fact that Dipper wasn’t looking where he was going but a glance at Bill sent them scurrying off. Bill stuck close to his Guardian, making sure that he was not interrupted in his examination of the pamphlet and it’s contents. Bill sort of understood now why Dot didn’t let go of Mabel’s hand. Their Guardians were powerful but their personalities were so human that it was hard not to interact with them almost protectively.

When Dipper finally slowed down and looked up it was at a crowd of people all gathered loosely. Children were bouncing on their toes asking to be picked up while a voice wafted over the crowd from the stage. Dressed in curtains and gossamer that shined the stage looked whimsical and surreal.

“It already started.” Mabel stated but didn’t frown, instead she pulled Dot’s arm mimicking the children in the crowd. He took the hint and quickly pulled her up to sit on his shoulders.

“Alley-oop,” Dipper squeaked somewhat loudly at Bill’s sudden motion to pull him up as well. He smacked the top of the blonde head in front of him, blushing furiously, somewhat glad Bill couldn’t see his face. Mabel, on the other hand, was giggling reaching over to pat her sibling’s shoulder. Once they were both comfortably seated their eyes turned to the stage where there was a tall man dressed in one of the festival’s colorful worker shirts. He was doing a decent job at hyping the crowd.

Bill’s eyes took in the stage, the crowd, and the surrounding area looking for the normal tells that usually give away a fake. People who liked to feign psychic powers usually had people out amongst the crowd gathering information before they called a volunteer onto the stage. Other times, there were cameras or even the psychic themselves hanging out along the edges just waiting. He couldn’t see anything outright but that didn’t mean there wasn’t. Or at least that was the direction his mind was going until he saw it. Behind the gossamer curtain, painted onto a curtain, was the symbol of a 5 pointed, varying colored star; Pentagram.

Letting go of one of Dipper’s ankles Bill reached his hand up, “Lemme see that pamphlet, Pine Tree.”

Dipper let it go easily and when Bill set eyes on the fancy logo and the repeated symbol he let out a humph that would most certainly not go unnoticed by Dot; he didn’t care to hold it back though. Bill’s amber eyes flashed dangerously, his need to impulsively react negatively playing at the border of his mind. The literal weight of Dipper on his shoulders seemed to ground him though, he could see himself pulling Dot away and not caring that he was near dragging him but he didn’t. He didn’t question it, he just took a deep breath and tilted his head upwards to catch Dipper’s eye.

The Guardian tilted his head in confusion. “What’s wrong, Bill?”

He didn’t waver in stating, “Kryptos.” He’d left Gravity Falls in vain. How the hell did she always manage to get in his way.

“Who’s that?” Dipper turned to his sister and she looked worried. He wasn’t used to that. Mabel never worried, Mabel was too look-on-bright-side to worry about things. “Mabel?”

“Last time Bill was around Krystin he ran off for four days.” Dot was watching Bill intently. The blond was actively avoiding his brother’s gaze keeping instead with Dipper. “You aren’t going to run off now, are you, Bill?”

“The compulsion is there.” Bill admitted. Finally pulling his gaze from his Guardian he looked ahead to the stage. “Take your hand, turn the other way, run. But—“

He stops talking when the voice coming over the speaker switches from the male hype man to an all to recognizable southern lilt.

“Welcome y’all.” Krystin steps’ forward, her dress of pale blue and white lace is done in a modest southern belle style. Wide storm grey eyes and curled platinum blonde hair give her an almost doll-like impression. She’s captivating even without her abilities to back her up. Instantaneously she finds the four of them, eyes flickering over Dipper and Mabel, barely skimming Bill and locking onto Dot. Her smile widens and it’s familiar, it’s inviting. Even the crowd can feel the difference as a new warmth takes over their entertainer.

“I go by Kryptos round these parts, and this,” she paused for a moment to touch on the supposed pentagram pendant on her neck and the crowd awes as an eye opens at the center and with the customary pop of a transformation the star takes form and there stands a short in stature, rotund boy dressed in the same pale blue as Krystin. To Dot’s eyes he was younger looking then Mabel and he can’t help but smile, knowing that this must be Krystin’s Guardian. “This is my Guardian, my li’l Gideon.”

“Now I know y’all are wondering if my powers are even real, because I might be faking it with a Guardian Demon’s help. But Gideon is not an all knowin’, future tellin’ Demon. Mm-mm,” She shook her head and Dot watched her eyes shift over to Bill briefly, before coming back to the crowd, specifically a teenage girl with mousy brown hair. “What’s yer name, Darlin?”

It took a couple of tries to hear it properly but finally the crowd heard her say that her name was Frances.

“Well it’s nice to meet ya, Frances. Looks like you’ve got a mighty fine Guardian there, what’s their name?”

The teenager, Maddie, holds out her hand where everyone can clearly see she’s holding a cat sized Guardian Demon shaped something like an orb, it flickers in and out of visibility, it’s iridescent eye the only thing that stays solid. “This is Clara Balle,” the girl said and Clara affirmed this by sprouting the characteristic spindly arm and making a motion like a bow.

“A pleasure to meet you as well, Clara.” Krystin motioned for the teenager and her Guardian to join her up on stage. The girl’s curly brown hair fell into her face and made her look even smaller next to Krystin, obviously not used to the attention of a crowd of people. Krystin held her hand out to Gideon. His round body moved with a small wobble that almost made him look cute. Some of the audience awed but most of them just seemed to be in shock to see a Guardian transform. Bill grit his teeth, a familiar jealousy settled in Bill’s chest.

For years Krystin almost seemed to rub it into Bill that she had a Guardian Demon and he did not. And of course her Guardian Demon was of the lucky few that could transform into a human form. He lived in a town full of Guardians but in waltz’s Krystin, an outsider, who fits in better just because of her Guardian. Her mysterious ability to know things only a tiny plus to the citizens of Gravity Falls. Everyone else was just as fooled but something was wrong, he’d always been able to see it, why couldn’t anyone else.

“Hey, loosen up,” Bill jumped at the whisper of Dipper’s voice. He realized now he was gripping to tightly to the Guardian’s ankles. He calmed himself down by forcing his concentration elsewhere, muttering a soft apology. Dipper felt so human in his hands. Warm skin, soft, it was nice to know that Dipper was real and not a figment of his depraved imagination. When he had finally grounded himself enough he looked quickly at Dot and Mabel, his brother was wide eyed and enjoying the show. Mabel, though she had a smile on her lips, seemed uneasy.

Beside the psychic Gideon was holding Clara in one small hand. Krystin was holding on to the teenagers hand (he forgot her name already) and had her eyes closed. There wasn’t any flashing lights or mysterious colors emanating from her but when Krystin opened her eyes again there was something there, something different in the blue of her eyes that Bill had seen many times when she was demonstrating in town.

“You’re fifteen, Frances. Clara and you have been together for a year.” Krystin furrowed her brow for a minute and then laughed, “You’re mother didn’t have a Guardian Demon or your father, they were very surprised.”

Frances nodded her head energetically, “Yeah.”

“Can you remember where you were when you first met Clara? Don’t tell me, just picture it.” Frances closed her eyes tight and Krystin did the same. “March 17th, you had just gotten home from school. You were wearing a blue shirt with a turtle on it.” Krystin paused and leaned in closer to the shorter teen. “Your parents were sitting on the couch talking about…”

For a second Krystin’s voice wavered and her eyes popped open for a second. Just long enough to eye the man who must have been Frances’ father. It was too quick a look for Bill to decipher what it was about thought. Her eyes closed again and she spoke, “ Well, they were talking. Your Dad stood up, grabbed an apple, no an orange, from the fruit bowl and there she was. The first thing she said was, Your sugar is much too high to be eating that fruit, sir.”

Frances let go of Krystin’s hands, her eyes wide but a smile timidly stretch across her face and only growing wider. Krystin looked up and turned to Gideon and Clara. “Can you confirm this Clara?”

“I can confirm your statement as accurate.” Clara’s voice was amplified and the crowd was hushed in awe.

The entirety of the twenty-five minute show went much the same way with Krystin picking random volunteers and guessing numbers in their head or bringing up memories. At one point she’d told a man, “Nice to meet you, Cam. Gesundheit, by the way.” No more then a minute later he’d sneezed randomly and somehow this got the crowd roaring. Bill was only slightly irritated by Dot’s clapping hands and general enthusiasm. He tried to focus more on Dipper’s small hums and the little taps he made to the top of Bill’s head while he was deep in observation. The show wrapped up with Gideon being told a rather funny story by one of the crowd and Krystin repeating it back to the crowd. She did seem rather uncomfortable with the trick, not that anyone else would notice.

The crowd started dissipating, humming with astonished and perplexed chatter. Until it was just the four of them and few stragglers. Krystin was sitting on the edge of the stage with Gideon seated beside her, his small arms combing back the voluminous white of his hair. She seemed to be having a genuinely good talk with an older woman before Gideon mentioned how they needed to rest before their next show in two hours.

“Well thats that,” Bill muttered, “Let’s go.”

Rearranging his Guardian on his shoulder he turned on his heel and only made it so far as a step.

“I want to talk to her.”

“Dot? I wanna ride some rides.” Bill looked up at Mabel, his brow furrowing. She hardly ever whined against Dot. “The lines will get super long if we don’t go now.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Please?” she drew out the word long enough that it looked as if Dot cracked. Dipper let out a puff of air and leaned against Bill’s head.

“Come on, Mabel. Let the guy talk to his girlfriend.”

Dot sputtered, his pale cheeks flaring red as a result of Dipper’s words. Any other time Bill might find this hilarious and poke fun but this wasn’t some random innocent girl around town. This was Krystin, his obnoxious two-faced enemy. And even more so, Gideon was around. Unlike other Guardians Gideon wasn’t always with her, or at least not within the immediate vicinity. But the weird peacockish Demon was definitely sticking around today; during public appearances Gideon soaked up the attention like he was real showman.

“Bill Cipher, enjoy the show?” Damn that voice was irritating. The weight of Dipper on his shoulders disappeared rather suddenly the teen had to prevent himself from reaching out when he saw the Guardian on the ground reaching a hand out to Gideon.

“Hey, Dipper Pines,” he said. Gideon looked at the Reality Demon’s hand for a moment as if he were contemplating whether this was a sound decision before reaching out and giving one single pump, retracting almost immediately and without a word as his attention shifted.

“And this lovely creature must be Mabel.”

Mabel’s toes were just touching the ground as Gideon approached her a waggle in his eyebrows that made her chuckle somewhat nervously under her breath. “Uh, how did you know my name?” Dot watched the white haired Guardian take Mabel’s hand and sloppily kiss the top. Mabel was too polite to just tear herself away but not to wipe the back of her hand against her skirt.

“I’ve heard a great deal about you Mystery Twins,” Gideon possessed the same southern twang as his charge. He placed both hands in front of him like a mini business man and eyed Dipper in particular as he spoke. “You two have quite the reputation. My name is Gideon Gleeful, Guardian Demon of—“

“They know who I am, Gideon.” Krystin stepped up beside Bill, her stormy gaze fondly looking down on her Guardian. “They did just watch our show after all.”

“Krystin,” Dot stepped forward and held out his hands, she took the gesture for what it was and embraced him tightly. “You were amazing. I’d always hoped that one day you wouldn’t have to hide your powers.”

Pulling back Krystin blushed prettily and nodded, she opened her mouth to say more but was interrupted by the sharp crassness of Bill. “You’re saying her powers don’t come from that mongrel?” he pointed at Gideon.

“You take that back, Cipher.” Gideon stomped forward to wag a finger in Bill’s direction but was stopped promptly by a rather steadfast Dipper. Hands stuffed in the pockets of his shorts and one eyebrow raised it was almost a challenge if ever Bill had seen one. “Just turn the other cheek, Pines, and it’ll be like nothin’ ever happened.”

“Boys, boys, geez, can’t we all just get along?” Mabel had rushed forward to stand between the two child-like Guardians and while Dipper leaned away at the request of his sister Gideon looked inclined to go through with whatever was going on in his head. “Gideon, please?”

“Oh stop it, Gideon. If ya haven’t learned to block out the riff raff by now then go back to the trailer.” Patting her Guardian on the head Krystin smiled down at him. The smile didn’t seem real though, it was almost like a warning.

“Fine fine,” he waved off Krystin’s hand, “If ya must know, Kryptos doesn’t get her power from me. She was born with it, I simply enhance it. So before you go accusing one’a the most powerful psychics this side of the Mississippi of being a fraud why don’t you show some civility, Cipher.”

Dot turned to his brother, brows furrowed, “You lived in the same town as her for almost three years. You’ve seen what she could do.”

A rather loud snort escaped Bill. He crossed his arms and turned away from Dot. “It’s not like we’re friends. She just likes to say flowery things that don’t make any sense. How was I supposed to know it was the real deal? Not like it’s the first time someone used their Guardian for their own gain.”

“Maybe don’t assume next time, Bill.” Krystin was fixing one of her curls behind her ear, the action demure and that irritated Bill. How the hell did she always manage to look like she’d just bested him? “Listen, Dot, I need to go get ready for the next show but maybe we could have dinner tomorrow? Just the two of us, and our Guardians of course.”

“Yes,” Dot said with a few quick nods of his head. “Tomorrow, seven alright?”

“Make it seven thirty, that should give me enough to time to make sure Toby is out.”

“Toby?”

Bill snickered, “Toby Determined, the guy swears by Kryptos.”

“I’m a psychic, not a psychologist… or a miracle worker.” She sighed heavily and then motioned for Gideon to move, “Well I’ll see you tomorrow, Dot, Mabel. Let’s go Gideon.”

The two walked off, Gideon keeping in keep with Krystin’s longer strides easily. She seemed at ease, graceful even. Her small Guardian talked and waved his arms about as he did so, it looked adorable but was undoubtedly a temper tantrum of some sorts. When they’d finally gone past the curtain it took a moment for the group to shake off the sense the feeling that something had just happened; even if no one knew what it was, let alone wanted to admit to it.

“I don’t like them.” Dipper spoke first, his arms crossing, mirroring Bill’s stance. “There’s something off about them.”

“You and me both.” Bill humphed a puff of air in affirmation.

Dot rolled his eyes and waved a hand at the two, “You guys are just paranoid. Krystin has never been anything but nice to me and she was there for me when I needed someone most.” The last part seemed to shake Bill out of his angry stupor and pass a rather blank gaze at Dot. Couldn’t even muster up the energy to look guilty, Dot thought. He turned to Mabel, “They aren’t so bad, right, Mabel?”

Mabel was chewing on the ends of her brown hair, eyes staring after the psychic duo. She only snapped out of it when Dipper elbowed her lightly in the side her. She jumped and met her brothers confused gaze before turning back to Dot and grinning wide. “Let’s get some cotton candy!” Then she took off ahead of them and before Bill knew it Dipper was on her heels. The twin brother’s looked at one another another questioningly and for a second it looked as if Dot was going to say something until a high pitched squeal sent both of them after their Guardians.

* * *

  
The day was successful, Bill thought. Outside the sky was pitch black, a new moon having risen. The only light was from the one lone light post in front of their shack of a home and the front porch. Beside him Dot was lightly snoring his face illuminated by the multiple colors coming from glow sticks around his neck. The Starlight Parade was amazing, colors bright and neon could only bring smiles to the crowd. Bill had never been but had heard a great many things about it and he wasn’t disappointed. The twin Guardians had bounced on their heels before giving in and transforming back into their more Demonic forms. They remained that way until they clamored back into the car and prepared for the drive home.

Bill’s attention shifted to the back and grinned. Dipper was nuzzled into his sister, a book on his lap and baseball cap falling over his face. It was a light blue and white cap with a pine tree decorating the front. Bill saw it and knew immediately that he had to win it. Luckily he’d always been pretty good at fooling people into thinking he was older or younger then people assumed and the man doing the guessing was easily intimidated into believing Bill was well into his 20’s. On the thought of guessing games Bill’s eyes shifted to Mabel, asleep against her brother and with a new addition on her lap.

Guess the weight of the pig. Soulmates, Mabel had said, whatever that meant. Bill was beyond the concept that there was one person out there meant for one other person. Was that even possible for Guardian Demons? Did they even have souls to mate to? He’d always been told they were beings of pure energy. What is a soul? Bill shook the thought and eyed the pink pig curled up on Mabel’s lap again. He was kinda cute. He’d need a name.

Smack!

Bill, along with the rest of the car, jolted awake and screamed at the loud sound of something hitting the hood of the car. “Uh oh,” Bill muttered.

“Uh oh?” Dot echoed in question, stretching and opening the car door slowly.

Aunt Mo stood with her arms crossed, still looking impeccably dressed. Beside her Stanley stood defensively, his brows furrowed and looking fixedly at Bill. Marching up to the younger twin Aunt Mo snatched the keys from his hands and jingled them angrily in his face “Are you kidding me, Bill?”

“Aunt Mo, I—“

“No, don’t you dare Aunt Mo me. You have been gone for four days! Four days I was worried sick about where the hell you’d been. Four days I begged Stan to let me into the forest to find you and then, finally, when you come home and you’re safe you leave! Damnit, Bill, I didn’t know where you went, I didn’t know if Dot was safe.”

“Is that what this is about?” Bill leaned forward, pushing further into Aunt Mo’s space. “You weren’t worried about me. You were worried about Dot. What I might do to him. It’s always been about Dot, how good Dot is, how smart Dot is, everyone wants Dot. But he’s mine! My brother, he’s all I got, I—“

Bill stopped suddenly and it wasn’t because Dipper had finally hopped out of the car and quickly made his way over to his charge. Aunt Mo was holding him so tightly, her hand pressing his shoulders and one at the back of his head. She’d never held him before, he’d never let him. But her strength was remarkable and Bill was already so fragile. She refused to let him go, even as he made small movements to pull away. Eventually he slumped against her, burying his head into the crook of her neck and though it was barely audible, he cried. His hands crept up around her and held her just as tightly.

Dipper felt it, the stitches of Bill’s reality had been ripping at the seams but instead it had expanded. His reality was stretching, it was accepting more then just the narrow hallway he’d been walking down. The Guardian knew there was going to be a lot of work ahead of him after he put Bill back together but he’d forgotten to account for the thought that Bill might actually want to learn, to accept, that there were more people in his life. When he’d shunned Veronica and Xavier Dipper thought for sure that Bill didn’t want anymore people in his life; had he been wrong?

“You know,” Aunt Mo started, her gaze turning to Dot who awkwardly stood with Mabel and her pig. “I never planned on becoming a mother, or an aunt. When my sister had you guys I thought for sure I would never get to meet you. I had hoped I wouldn’t. I thought for sure you would both turn out as nasty and selfish as she was. Don’t give me that look Dot, I knew my sister was no saint. Then Bill came here and I met you, under horrible circumstances, but I could see that you were both so different. From her, from each other.”

“Aunt Mo,” Dot started.

“Not tonight, Dot. We can talk about this some other time. You boys are exhausted and I need to put your cake in the freezer for another day. Maybe we can have it for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Cake?”

“My God, do you think I would forget my boys’ birthday.” Something warm started to spread from Dot’s chest and he couldn’t help the small, coy smile on his lips. He had Mabel to always make a big deal out of his birthdays but Bill had acted as if no one ever did, not even himself. He never thought Aunt Mo would just reject the idea but he’d also never considered that she tried to acknowledge it.

“What’s that?” Stanley forced Dot to look up form his hands and follow the older Guardian’s gaze down to Mabel who was standing beside him with the pig she’d won standing beside her. “That thing is not coming inside my house.”

“He is not a thing, Grunkle Stan, he’s a pig.” Mabel said matter-of-factly lifting the pig into her arms and gripping him tightly; the pig didn’t seem opposed.

A small sound came from Aunt Mo’s shoulder and the attention was directed at Bill once more as the teen straightened himself out. His eyes were still a bit red but after rubbing at them for a minute he looked at the pig and then at Stan. “Leave Waddles alone, Fez. He’s family, like it or not.” Then Bill stretched out and placed a hand on Dipper’s hat, “I’m going to bed.”

Mabel was grinning widely. While everyone else might not see it as much one look at Dipper, who was still standing outside with them as opposed to following Bill, told her all she needed to know. Bill was okay, right now, everything was okay.


	3. Little Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delve in to Aunt Mo's mind just a bit and and get ready to start approaching the plot. What does Mabel know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh it's been awhile but the holidays are here and I wanted to give you guys a present so have a new chapter :D 
> 
> let me know what you're all thinking <3 questions, comments, and the like are welcome and thanks for those who saw my new image on deviant art that was inspired by the last chapter.

Pi Mo leaned against the doorframe in between the living room and the hallway. Nursing a warm cup of tea in her hands, she breathed in the peppermint aroma and felt the tension in her shoulders slip away. It hadn’t been a stressful day, far from, but it had certainly been an active one; even if they had spent most of it inside. She’d decided against opening shop, much to Stanley’s displeasure, and instead woke up just late enough to be considered proper.

The boys probably would have slept longer if it weren’t for the smell of toast and the sound of sizzling bacon. Pi had long ago been banished from the kitchen portion of the home when they’d moved to Gravity Falls and she had no qualms with lounging at the table and reading the morning paper. The first to trudge in had been Bill, the sound of hiking boots coming down from the attic familiar to her. He rounded the corner with Dipper, blonde hair tousled and face grinning as he poked fun at the pine tree shaped Demon. Mabel had come around the corner before Dot, her hair flying behind her as she beelined for Stanley and the stove.

They sat for breakfast together, awkwardly at first until the sound of Mabel and Dipper bickering lightly back and forth soothed the tension. As soon as Stanley fetched the cake out of the refrigerator and every piece of food was clean off their plates Aunt Mo halted all of their movements to leave. Effective immediately Bill was under house arrest, nineteen or not if he wanted to act like a child by taking the car he would be treated like one. As a birthday present Dot would avoid the same fate however, she did ask that he at least mention that he was leaving and divulge her with where he would be. Bill only settled from ranting about how unfair it was when she mentioned that the car looked like it needed a detailing.

They, Guardians and their charges, spent the rest of the morning almost casually. Bill had shucked his hiking boots off to a corner and told Pi how he and Dot had managed to run into each other. They skirted over the topic of arguments that had ensued between the two. Dipper seemed to enjoy telling everyone about the robber that had almost taken Bill’s laptop, as well as the couple of times Bill had almost burned down the apartment. Dot talked about his school and job, as well as begged for forgiveness on his bad gambling and betting habits; Pi was less then enthused, Stanley looked impressed. Then Mabel had brought up their favorite lounge and in turn Whitney. Bill took the bait and ceaselessly teased Dot until the teen was cherry red in the face. The only topic that never came up was what had happened the other night. Rather, when it was suggested, usually by Bill, Pi turned the direction away and Dipper looked eager to do the same. Otherwise, it was all achingly domestic.

After all the plates had been cleared and the kitchen cleaned they’d separated in the house but it never seemed for long. Although Pi would have to watch her step at times if Dipper or Mabel, sometimes both, ran passed her, Dot kept his distance from Bill and didn’t speak much unless a question was directed at him. Stanley was content with splitting his time between her and the child-like Guardian Demons. She knew that he was their mentor and she’d never seen a bunch of Guardian Demons look so much like a family.

She’d been watching TV with Stanley on the couch when she’d decided to make tea. He’d been comfortably nestled in her hair as the evening approached. Walking back she’d been greeted by the sight of Dipper sitting cross-legged on the living room floor with a smallish book in his hands, tongue out as he bent over the book in concentration. Beside him was Bill, a familiar sight. Blonde hair pulled pack and highlighters sticking out behind his ears, pen between his lips, and sheets of paper scattered about him. The book in his hands was exceptionally large but his amber eyes looked dedicated to it. It brought a fond smile to her lips.

The click of the front door opening drew both her own and Stanley’s attention. Turning her head around she saw Dot fixing his coat and Mabel beside him petting Waddles, the pig. He looked up and gave an awkward smile at being caught; he wasn’t used to telling anyone where he was going and when. Pi knew he’d need time to adjust to how she ran her household.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked, her tone of no nonsense conveying the message that if he lied she would know.

He didn’t hesitate. “Krystin invited us over for dinner.”

Pi’s brows furrowed and she even felt Stanley shift atop her head. Her eyes darted over towards Bill who hadn’t seemed to hear anything and was instead listening to Dipper explain something in the book he was reading.

“He knows,” Dot said before she could ask. “He was there yesterday when she invited me… us.”

Mabel dropped a kiss on the pig’s pink head and waved him off. Waddles made his way past Pi and towards Dipper where the small Guardian lifted his arms to allow the pig into his lap, it barely disrupted the flow between the two. Huffing a small sigh she turned back to Dot and nodded, “Be back by ten then.”

Dot looked about ready to argue it but the look on his Aunt’s countenance quickly stopped him. Taking a sip of her tea Pi turned away and walked back into the kitchen only listening long enough to hear the front door close. She reached for the kettle still sitting on the stove and carefully added more to warm her cooling cup. The sensation of Stanley lifting from her head and the pop of him transforming barely registered with her until she saw him out of the corner of her eye, leaning against the counter arms crossed. His face was set in a rather gruff frown.

“I don’t like them going over there,” Stanley finally said.

“Oh hush, you’ve never liked either one of them. That was something you and Bill certainly had in common.” Leaning on the counter beside him she brought the cup to her lips breathing in the minty aroma.

“Kryptos is bad news on her own—“

“For reasons I’ll never understand.”

“But with that evil little thing of hers around—“

“He is a Demon after all.” she took a long sip, hiding her small smile behind the cup.

“Stop that.” Stanley pushed himself off the counter and stared down at Pi, “You’re acting awfully calm about all this y’know.”

Slowly Pi brought the cup from her lips and turned her eyes upwards to the towering Guardian. Somehow she knew he wasn’t just talking about Kryptos and Gideon anymore. She knew that look and if she tried to weasel her way out of answering his unsaid question he would know, if she lied he would know too; he always knew. Finally, taking a deep breath she took the cup in her hands and grasped it against her chest trying to absorb the warmth, “If I’m calm, if I look calm, it’s because I don’t know how else to react. What do you expect of me Stanley? When we took Bill in we made an agreement that we would take Dot too, if he wanted. It’s just all this talk of caving realities and this kind of attachment Bill has I… I just don’t understand it. It all goes right over my head. You remember my family, right? I couldn’t wait to get away from them, they were horrible. My sister was no saint and these boys—“ Pi cut herself off listening to the sounds of Dipper muttering something to Bill and some commercial in the background from the T.V. she’d been watching. Her shoulders slackened.

“I never wanted any of this. It was just going to be you and me for the rest of my life. I don’t know how to do this family thing. My sister, Stanley, she was my sister and, oh god… did I actually love her? How do I even do that?” She took a breath and closed her eyes tight, trying to stop the burning sensation, “What did she do to them? Have I done any better? She was their mother…I’m an aunt, Stanley. They call me Aunt.”

Mindful of the hot content Stanley lifted the cup up and out of Pi’s hands and placed it on the counter. Once upon a time he’d thought the same thing about being someone’s Guardian but it came naturally. Everything always came naturally with Pi; sort of the way it did when he came upon twin Demons and took them under his wing. Placing one hand on either of her forearms Stanley dropped his head and placed his forehead carefully on hers till their noses just touched. He watched the small pricks of tears just forming on the corner of her eyes for a moment before he spoke.

“You ain’t nothin’ like your sister, Piper. You’re so much better.” He chuckled under his breath and held her closer. He knew from experience she wouldn’t allow herself to fully cry but he wished she would, sometimes all anyone needed was a really good cry.

* * *

 

Behind the gossamer curtain, darkly painted front room, and scent of incense was a cozy living and dining room, the kitchen through another door. It was a small space but inviting. The wallpapered walls were stripes of pale blue and cream giving the room an almost vintage air. Even the furniture looked as if it were pulled from an old antique photo. And yet it suited Krystin.

Dot was sitting comfortably on a chair with Mabel beside him. She was nibbling on the ends of her hair, something she normally only did when she was feeling guilty; he thought maybe it had turned into a nervous habit. Krystin had excused herself to get dressed quickly and Gideon was in the kitchen watching that their dinner didn’t burn. This left Dot to absorb everything around him. There was a lot to look at, crystal pendulums, books, a large globe, several pieces of art hung around the room amongst those things. Dot’s eyes, however, kept drifting to the only photos that appeared in the room.

They were small photos sitting on the fireplace mantel. One seemed the obvious photo for her to have. It was of Krystin, herself, sitting on a brick wall with Gideon beside her. She looked to be in the middle of a laugh while the pentagram shaped Demon had his eye half closed in similar mirth. The second photo was of a Krystin he recognized, she was probably no more then a year younger then when he’d met her. The two people holding her from either side must have been her parents, she had her dads platinum blonde hair but it was curly like her mothers; they looked happy. The third photo seemed the most out of place amongst the other two, it was older and featured a young woman with bone straight white hair, though it could have been blonde; the sepia tone of the image was misleading.

“My grandmother.” Dot jumped, whipping his head around. He hadn’t even realized he’d gotten up. Krystin stood in the doorway out of the frilly blue dresses she favored and dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeved cream peasant top. “She passed away the year I moved up here.”

“Oh…I’m sorry?” She laughed at his questioning tone.

“Don’t be, she was the reason I’d ended up in that awful place.” Krystin frowned at the image but it changed as soon as she returned her gaze to Dot. “Then again if I hadn’t I certainly never would have met you,” she turned to Mabel. “Or you, Mabel, though I know you don’t remember me at all.”

“Well, uh, I’m glad to have met you. You were kinda the only real friend I’ve ever had, that wasn’t Mabel.” he hurried that last part just as the small Guardian crossed her arms and pouted. Krystin laughed again and waved them over to the table.

“Let’s sit, Gideon will bring the food when it’s done. I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs, it’s my favorite.” Krystin sat first, motioning at the chair across from her. Dot sat as did Mabel and suddenly Dot was all too aware that he hadn’t seen this girl in about nine years and had no idea what it was he was supposed talk about. Krystin probably had way more fascinating stories than the one time that a boy had puked in his cell because he’d sneaked food that was in a garbage pile by accident. He cringed at the thought.

“So you’ve been here for three years, huh? Why Gravity Falls?” Mabel asked. It startled Dot, she hadn’t looked inclined to talk to Krystin before, now she was sitting on her knees on one of the seats staring intently at the psychic.

“It’s been almost four years now,” Krystin smiled down at her. “But actually, it was Gideon’s idea. When my grandmother passed we couldn’t really find our place in that town, she’d already ostracized herself so much that people were wary of Gideon and I. So he said we should just go, we sold almost everything and left. Took a few trains and buses and ended up here. There were so many Guardians and so many friendly people. I was an entertainer to them and so we just stayed.”

“Gideon chose Gravity Falls then?” Mabel asked.

“I guess so. This place doesn’t show up on any maps so when we stumbled across it he thought it was perfect for us. I could be a sideshow attraction like your Aunt and nobody would think twice about it. I didn’t want a large stage in Vegas or a shady hole in the wall so this whole set up appealed to me just fine.” Krystin’s smile was small and Dot felt his face heat up again. “Where did you two settle down?”

“Like you don’t already know.” Mabel answered cheekily and when Krystin laughed Mabel did too.

“Believe it or not, I am not all knowing. I get these impressions about a person and the more true they are about that person the easier it is for me to understand; like birthdays or names.”

“Sounds kinda like what my brother can do.”

“Your brother?” Krystin, like many, questioned it, but quickly shook it off and continued, “I did wonder why he was harder to read then other Guardians. Always searching for the truth that one…”

When Krystin drifted Mabel awkwardly shuffled in her seat. Dot swallowed thickly and opened his mouth to ask about Gideon but what came out was not what he’d been expecting.

“Did you know?” he questioned.

The blonde turned her attention to Dot, tilting her head in question. “Pardon?”

“Did you know Bill was my brother?” There was no turning back now, it had been dancing in the back of his head since he first saw Krystin standing in his Aunt’s front yard.

“I didn’t,” she said. “I can’t read Bill.”

Dot waited for her to say something else. She didn’t. For some reason it aggravated him. Krystin couldn’t read Bill but she could read him just fine? “What does that mean?”

“I guess that was a weird way to put it. Bill is different from a lot of people. He sort of runs impulsively. His truths twist and turn. He told me he had a brother once but what I kept seeing was a child, blurry and undefined, almost like he knew I could see and was purposely keeping it hidden from me. When I read someone they have to truly be open to it and Bill is anything but an open book. I assumed the child in his head was himself or an imaginary friend he’d once had.”

“Oh…” Dot didn’t know how to respond to that.

“I’m sorry, Dot. But even when we met you never mentioned Bill and it was too dark around you to see anything anyway. I promise there was no way I could have known you two were related, let alone brothers.”

Or twins, Dot wanted to say but restrained himself in favor of not pushing Krystin even more. Instead she shifted the conversation, asking him when he got out of prison and where he’d gone first. He couldn’t resist laughing about how Mabel had immediately procured them a place to sleep in an elderly home. Out of the corner of his eye he watched his Guardian slip from her chair and disappear in the direction of the kitchen. Perhaps he may have even called out to her if Krystin hadn’t reached forward to take his hand drawing him back to her laugh.

The kitchen was cozy, not large and certainly not modern but convenient. In Mabel’s opinion it needed a lot of decorating but that was not her mission right now. Her mission was Gideon, the tiny star Guardian zipping between the oven and the stove. However, as soon as he spotted Mabel he stopped and his one eye curved into a crescent that let Mabel know he was smiling. In an instant he stood before her in his short human stature and Mabel crossed her arms in what felt like confident defiance.

“Well well well, Mabel Pines here to see lil’ ol’ me. What can I do you for?” They stood toe to toe, Gideon never seeming as small as he actually was.

“Can it, Gideon. What are you doing here?”

“Why Mabel, you didn’t think that you could get rid of me forever now did you?” He smiled wide, it creeped the brunette out but not enough to kill the fire in her eyes. “Besides, I’m fulfilling a duty just like you. I’m helping someone reach their full potential.”

“That’s not what Guardians do, Gideon, but you wouldn’t—“

Mabel was cut off when she heard soft footsteps approaching. She turned around to see that it was just Dot, his worried eyes softening as soon as they fell on Mabel. A wave of protectiveness washed over her and she wanted nothing more then to whisk Dot away from this place but the small pale golden happiness that shone through in his emotions was so new and so different that she couldn’t bring it in herself to say anything.

“I was just coming to make sure you weren’t putting anything too sparkly or pink in the food,” Dot said with a quirk of his lips. “Looks like everything is going well though.”

“Oh everything is hunky dory,” Gideon came over carrying a tray and motioned for Mabel to take it. “Y’all go sit down while I grab the bread and cheese.”

Dot nodded in a quick way of thanks and led Mabel out to the table where Krystin was twisting a ringlet of hair around her finger. Straightaway the blonde took the tray and placed the main dish on the table. Gideon followed soon after and his quick and chatter felt practiced, theatrical. Gideon’s gaze hardly ever left Mabel while he spoke and created conversations out of nothing. It was an endless challenge between the two Guardians and neither one was prepared to step down, even if there was no clear prize all Mabel knew was that Gideon was certainly up to no good. When Mabel turned to Dot in hopes that he was also seeing how intense Gideon’s gaze was on her she was startled to find that his own was intent on Krystin and her eyes just as bright and sparkly as Dots. Something else came and twisted itself in Mabel’s chest and this time she couldn’t tell what it was but it wasn’t just Gideon.


	4. Figure it Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY.  
> I have left you all hanging and I apologize it has just been a rough time and the story is getting complex in my head so I'm trying to straighten things out so that it's not hastily written with no plan. I want it to make sense when it all wraps up.
> 
> Anyway, comments and kudos are what keep this story running so they are much appreciated, questions too if you have any. Enjoy! <3

  
Krystin waved at the receding backs of Dot and Mabel, her smile wide and even luminous in the dark. She’d warned him not to walk too near the wood as he left but he didn’t seem fearful and Mabel was without a doubt the most brave hearted character she’d ever met. Dinner was a great success, she and Dot had laughed and reconnected without missing a beat. When she finally closed the door she leaned back against it and dug her fingers in her silvery hair.

It was all too much.

“Well, I s’pose that could have gone better.”

She started, almost having forgotten about Gideon’s presence. He tended to whisk in and out of her life when they weren’t in public. Here he was though, standing before her with his arms crossed and eyes pinned to her.

“I think it went just fine,” she responded, “Dot’s grown into a good man despite his brother’s wrong doings.”

“Yes, well Dot isn’t who we should be worried about.”

“Worried? Gideon, why would we be worried about anyone?”

The small Demon gave a light tsk in response to Krystin’s question. “Don’t you remember why I chose you Krystin?”

“B-because I can see things?”

“No, child, no. Because you know what needs to be done.” he moved closer towards her, radiating a sense of justice that she so direly desired. “Now were you able to read anything from them?”

“Only through Mabel. She doesn’t keep secrets well, or at least it pains her too. Do you think she’s a part of this?” Krystin asked, her stormy eyes almost deadpanning at the thought.

Gideon grinned like the cat who caught the mouse and leaned in to take one of Krystin’s hands. “Oh yes, my dear, I am afraid she is.”

 

* * *

The door clicked closed behind Dot as he let himself into the shack of a home. The first thing he noticed was that it was quiet, the only real sound being the low hum of a commercial on the TV living room. He made his way down the hall, with Mabel on his heels, and peeked into the living room. It looked like both Stanley and Aunt Mo had retired for the night but Bill, Dipper and Waddles hadn’t made it that far.

Splayed across the floor was Bill, hair covering his eyes and chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Markers and pens surrounded his head where they had probably fallen from behind his ears and the book, Mindscape, was open against his torso. Waddles was tucked into the blond’s side, his nose nuzzling the edge of a pillow and soft snores emitting from him every now and then. Sitting on the recliner was Dipper, except instead of softly snoring along with his charge he was writing, maybe even sketching, in a book and seemed pretty intent on the activity. Green eyes drifted up to greet them as Dot stood in the doorway looking on at them.

“Welcome back,” Dipper said.

Mabel picked her way around the mess on gypsy feet and plopped onto the couch beside her brother. “Hey Dip-Dop, watcha doin?”

Smiling over at his sister Dipper looked that much more like the adoring brother Mabel had always claimed he was. Glancing down at Bill, snoring softly on the floor, Dot ran a hand through his hair in an almost exasperated fashion. He stepped closer and nudged the blonde with his foot. Bill stirred for a moment but settled with a snuffle holding his book tighter to him. Sitting on his haunches Dot removed the book from his brother’s grasp with little difficulty then gently shook him awake.

“C’mon, Bill. Time for bed.” Bill swatted at him and Dot wondered briefly if he should just leave him there. “I’m not going to carry you. So it’s either the hard floor or nice warm bed.”

“Leave me alone.” Bill muttered, turning onto his side to wrap his arms around Waddles. The pig didn’t seem to care either way.

Dot stood up and backed away. “Fine, have it your way. I’m heading to bed. Goodnight, Dipper, Mabel…”

“I’m gonna hang out with Dipper for a bit. Goodnight, Dot.” She waved a small happy goodbye, making herself comfortable beside her brother.

Just before Dot turned around a groggy Bill sat up and flashed a glare at his brother. “Seriously, that was your attempt at getting me to bed? You were just gonna leave me here all night.”

Dot deadpanned his brother and quirked a brow. “I’m not your babysitter, Bill.” And he left. Bill picked himself off the floor and nudged his studying materials over with his toe into a pile before waving a half-hearted goodnight to the twin Guardians. It wasn’t until the soft snick of the door closing on Bill’s room sounded that Dipper turned to his sister and raised an eyebrow.

“So?” Dipper dragged it out, encouraging his sister to start talking.

“What? Can’t I just hang out with you bro bro? We’ve barely had any time together.”

Mabel was right. Despite their charges being brothers they hadn’t much time to themselves. In fact if Dipper thought about it this was the longest stretch of time that the two had been together uninterrupted by either Bill or Dot. He smiled and nudged her arm with his fist in a friendly manner, watching her eyes shine with a smile.

“Missed you, bro bro.” she told him, leaning back into the chair they were sharing.

“Yeah, I missed you too. How was dinner with Krystin and Gideon?”

Mabel tensed up, her eyes darting elsewhere for a moment. “I- I don’t trust them.”

Dipper regarded his sister’s statement, as shaky as it was. “Yeah, me neither.”

Silence engulfed the room as Mabel seemed to think about his response. She was reaching over to bring the ends of her hair to her lips again, a nervous habit when she hated to talk about something. Dipper placed a hand on her shoulder, supporting her. She was always dead set on the innocent until proven guilty idea, so something must have happened. Either that or she was hiding something, she’d been acting weird when they first met Gideon and Mabel had to know Dipper would notice.

“Do you remember anything about Gideon?”

At that Dipper furrowed his brow and the book that had been sitting in his lap popped out of existence. “What do you mean remember? I never met him before yesterday. Are we supposed to know him?”

“Pfft, I … it was, the…just- yeah, but no,” Mabel stumbled over her words waving her hands in front of her. She didn’t know what to say to that, she wasn’t supposed to say anything to that; that was the deal. “We heard about him a couple of times in our dimension. I just thought maybe you’d remember something about him.”

The look of concentration on her brother’s face eased her. He believed her. Of course he did, what reason would he ever have not to. They would do anything for one another. Anything.

“I could investigate, I can still pull most of my books from our dimension.”

At the mention of his books Mabel straightened up and leaned forward earnestly, spooking her brother once more and cornering him into the chair. “Dipper, your books, the journal, where is it?”

“Woah, back up out of the bubble there, Mabel,” he said. She complied, but looked no less invested in his answer. “It’s where I always keep it, close by.” He reached into the vest that he was so fond of in his appearance and pulled out the odd book. Mabel made grabby hands at the book but Dipper pulled it out of her reach and pushed back her face with the other hand.

“Come on, Dipper, just let me see it for a second.”

“No, why do you want it anyway?”

“I just want to check something.”

“Yeah, ‘cause that doesn’t sound suspicious.”

Mabel huffed and pulled back, crossing her arms over her chest. “Please, Dip, when have I ever been suspicious? I’m an open book! Now let me open yours.”

A roll of his eyes and Dipper finally relented, handing over the book. Mabel promptly sat back and opened it. “I don’t know what you’re so eager to read, it’s not much more then what’s always been there. Just stuff about creatures that exist in this dimension.”

Browsing through the handwritten book Mabel nodded along to her brothers words and eventually tossed the book back to him. She resisted the need to sigh in relief instead putting on a bored expression. “You’re right, nothing new.”

Perhaps if Mabel had a more subtle personality or was prone to less spontaneous moments of oddity Dipper would question it. As it stands Mabel was quick to do things on a whim so he didn’t see the need to do anything beyond shoot his sister a questioning look. All she did in response was kick her legs up to rest against his thighs and lean back into the chair. A teen magazine popped into existence in her hands and she began talking about whether a Guardian’s job was more stressful or less if their charge was a celebrity. This was familiar, sharing each other’s company and Dipper smiling and nodding along to all of his sister’s small comments about whatever article she brushed over.

Mabel peeked over the edge of her magazine after about an hour. Dipper was scribbling in another one of his books, looking at another that floated beside him for reference. He was still Dipper and she was still Mabel. She had her brother with her and what more could she ever have asked for. All Mabel could ask for was stretched out in front of her. Dot, Dipper, and their old mentor Grunkle Stan, were all the family she needed. She shouldn’t have looked at the journal, she should have left it alone. But it had been nagging at her since she’d heard Dipper was in this dimension, she had to know.

* * *

 

Dot was not a morning person. Bill had observed this once before when they were sharing his apartment and Dot had snapped at the microwave for not counting down fast enough. This morning looked to be leading the same way. Aunt Mo had woken them up early because she needed to head out to work and wanted to lay down a few rules. She’d gone back into her room to get dressed but Stanley was cooking at the stove filling the silence with the sizzle of bacon.

Bill sat across from his twin, who was absentmindedly glaring at the salt on the table. Sitting between them were their Guardians. Mabel, ever a spot of sunshine, was bedazzling her fork and beside her Dipper was reading a magazine he’d found somewhere while a spoon stirred itself in a mug of a what looked to be hot coco. As far as Bill knew neither of the Guardian’s had returned to their charges rooms, they’d sat up all night conversing and being siblings. Stanley may have joined them at some point, it’s not as if Guardian’s needed to sleep anyway.

Looking up at the figure of an older man in a suit of charcoal and red Bill questioned for the millionth time what it was that the Guardian’s based their human appearances on. Not all Guardian’s could do it but the ones that could blended in seamlessly. He brought his attention back to Dipper. “So you guys don’t age, right?”

“Nope.” Dipper never even looked up, he seemed to engrossed in an article about haunted houses.

“Age is but a number,” Mabel muttered, hands carefully placing a large pink rhinestone at the tip of the handle on her fork.

“So then your age isn’t a sign to how young a demon you are?”

Mabel’s fork clattered to the ground, startling even Dot out of his staring contest with the salt. He gave his Guardian a questioning look but she merely shrugged her shoulders and said, “Oops.”

Dipper was the one who answered his question, laying his magazine down to turn to Bill. “It’s always been a mystery to me too. I don’t know why it is we take the forms we do and I definitely know we don’t age. But I have heard that we usually appear to our charges at an age they are comfortable with, so usually about the same age as them.”

“Sorry to break it to you, Pine Tree, but if this is your idea of a nineteen year old then you need some recalibrating. You look ten, maybe twelve if I push it.”

“I think it’s Mabel. We’re twins, so I reacted to the form she chose.”

“So can you age?”

“Sure they can,” Stanley came up to the table with a floating pan and placed bacon and eggs on each of the plates. He didn’t used magic often, that Bill could remember, but he’d been doing so recently in the last week. Seems Dipper isn’t the only one influenced. “I was quite the stud in Pi’s day. It woulda been real awkward her moving in with a younger guy when we settled down here so I matched her.”

“How old was she?” Dot asked.

“I was twenty and he was no stud, just annoying.” Aunt Mo made her way over to the counter finding a pot of tea already made. She went about preparing it the way she liked. “Good morning.”

A small chorus of good mornings followed before Bill returned his attention to Dipper. “Show me.”

“No.”

“Come on, it should be no matter for a demon as powerful as you.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to, that’s why.”

“Aw, come on Dip-Dop, I could use a change. If that’s all good with you, Dot.” Mabel turned to her charge and grinned.

Dot glanced over at Bill, his face open and eager like a child. This was exciting to him. Bill was infinitely curious, always looking for information he hadn’t already crammed into his head. Dot had been contemplating the last few days since he’d woken up and it was starting to make his head hurt. He wasn’t sure if he could take another change. He couldn’t even talk to Bill about it, or yell at Bill to be frank, because Bill didn’t remember anything from the other night; when he’d looked prepared to hurt their family, again. Then there was Kristen, who had popped into his life so entirely unexpected. She seemed so much like the girl he’d known all those years ago but she didn’t say more then necessary, always asking questions and never answering them.

“Does your personality change?” Dot finally asked, trying to keep focus on only Mabel. The salt had been safer; he wondered when he started thinking that anything could be safer then Mabel.

“My personality?”

“Yeah, you're a kid right now. I mean you look like one. So will you not act like a kid if you, uhm, age up?” Dot could feel Bill’s eyes on him. Even Aunt Mo, though he could see in his peripheral vision was looking into her cup of tea, seemed to be paying apt attention.

“It doesn’t work like that, Dot, I’m always me. No matter what I look like.”

Dot’s gaze flickered back to the salt, unable to hold her green gaze much longer. His entire body felt stiff. He hadn’t realized how much he’d come to rely on Mabel’s optimistic and innocent persona. His own head was a dark enough place and he wasn’t sure if he could handle a teenage Mabel. Though in some ways he knew she was already there- she was surely more intelligent then the average child.

“It’s not something you should be so caught up about,” Aunt Mo finally said. Her steady gaze on Dot and then Bill. “Stanley aged up because it was a mutual decision. Think about it, it’s not as if you can’t return to your former forms when you please. Though I hear it does take up a lot of energy as opposed to switching between your demon forms. So perhaps you should do so after I send you out on an errand.”

Almost in relief at the change of subject Dot let out a puff of air. He did raise a brow in question though, “What sort of errand?”

“Well the errand is actually for Bill, but as he is under house arrest I am entrusting you three to watch that he stays on track.”

“Seriously? What else would I do?”

“Run into the forest.” The other three at the table barely missed a beat and Bill shot each one of them a glare.

“Fine, whatever. What am I doing?”

“McGucket needs his groceries. The store called earlier this morning asking if you were back from school and I thought this might be a much needed sense of normality.”

  
“Isn’t McGucket the guy you mentioned who doesn’t like to get near Guardians?” Mabel asked.

“Yeah, he’s my summer job, but I have Pine Tree now. I can’t do it.” Bill answered.

“Just leave him a little ways down the trail or something. You said he gave you a key, so he never comes near the door anyway, it’ll be fine.” Aunt Mo sipped from her mug, eyes on Bill. “Besides no one else wants to do it.”

“I’m too old for this.” Bill muttered under his breath before stopping at the glare his aunt gave him.

Dot ate the breakfast in front of him listening to his brother and aunt bicker. He wondered if this happened every year. He imagined ten year old Bill sitting in that same chair, bickering with Stanley and drinking orange juice. Bill running up and down the stairs trying to escape school and dragging in mud from playing outside. In the forest, free, without him. What was wrong with him? Dot spent years trying to forget he had a brother, ignoring the existence of his other half now he couldn’t stop. Every other thought was about Bill and if Bill was okay, how Bill grew up, what Bill would be doing right now if he’d come by himself.

He was disgusted with himself.

Beside him Mabel was talking casually with her own brother, her own twin. She was smiling, always smiling. They were always smiling around eachother. They weren’t like him and Bill. Bill who kept secrets and claimed to be protecting him. Bill who was selfish and only thought about himself.

Bill, who apologized.

Bill, who didn’t even remember that he apologized, for everything.

Dot’s gazed flickered up to see Bill smirking down at his eggs, eyes hardly attentive to their scolding aunt. This Bill in front of him wasn’t the Bill who was sorry, this was still a Bill who hard murdered their parents and thought everything was okay.

He really hated mornings and he really wanted to go home.

* * *

 

There was nothing like a short trek through the forest to make Bill’s day. He’d thrown his boots on after breakfast and watched Dot lace up some new ones that he’d apparently bought shortly after they’d gotten to Gravity Falls; he didn’t remember. Dipper floated beside him as he usually did during their hikes, a tree amongst trees. Mabel opted to bounce up and around the tree roots. Her brown hair kept getting twigs in it although Dot didn’t seem to paying much attention, his gaze focused on his own feet.

It was only a fifteen minute shortcut to the McGucket house and since most citizens weren’t inclined to enter the forest there wasn’t anyone else around. Bill held the groceries securely in his hands; luckily his geocaching gear could weigh more sometimes. He didn’t ask Dot for help. The morning blues hadn’t worn off from his brother yet and frankly Bill wasn’t sure that it was going to anytime soon. He’d like to pretend he was naive to his brother’s distaste of him but he wasn’t stupid.

“Make a left here, Pine Tree, once we’re out of the tree’s you’ll see the house.”

Mabel chased after her brother who was just slightly ahead. They broke out of the tree line in tandem. Bill glanced over at Dot, who looked unbothered by the fact that Mabel was out of his sight. It was warm out but Bill could almost feel a physical chill emitting from Dot.

When Bill and Dot came out from the tree’s Dipper was back to being a ten year old boy, his hat from the carnival still on his head and jotting down in a journal that Bill didn’t recognize as one of Dipper’s usuals.

“This is the McGucket house?” Dipper inquired of the cabin just a little ways ahead of them. It wasn’t large but it also wasn’t the sort of house you expected only one person to be living in.

“Yup, you guys can wait here, I’ll just drop these off and be right out.” Bill began to walk forward but Dipper stopped him. His small hand had caught Bill’s white shirt and pulled. “What is it, Pine Tree?”

“That house, there’s something, I don’t know. It’s weird. There’s something weird in there.” Dipper didn’t sound afraid, he sounded curious. But he hadn’t let go of Bill’s shirt and that just wouldn’t do.

“Of course there’s something weird in there. McGucket is the town loon. He never comes out of his house and hates, no loathes Guardians. If there were a creep scale he’d be that little image they put at the top to describe the level of creepiest.” Bill replied.

Mabel blew a raspberry, “Please, who hates Guardians? I mean we’re protectors. We’re the good guys.”

“That is odd,” Dipper agreed, rubbing at his chin like an old fashioned detective.

“I don’t know, maybe he’s just sore that he never got one. Some people are just like that.” Bill continued forward and Dipper was still following. “You have to stay with Dot. I’ll be right back.”

Bill kept walking, taking hardly any notice when Dipper stopped following. In some ways Bill could see why the house would scare off the citizens of Gravity Falls. The windows were always dark and there were spiderwebs adorning almost every crevice. It was the perfect year-round Summerween decoration. It didn’t help that McGucket was a known inventor and scientist. Loud sounds and electrical outages could usually be explained away by something going awry with at the mans home. Some said he was creating his own Frankenstein other said he was a jilted inventor chased out of the city for killing someone in an experiment; and that was just the tame theories.

“Hey you old loon, I’m back!” Bill called out, kicking the door shut behind him. The home was as dark inside as out, although it was cleaner. Spiders didn’t get into the corners here and dust was hardly ever rested long enough to settle. Though Bill supposed if he spent all his time inside one place he’d want it to be tidy. His house arrest punishment not withstanding.

“That you, Bill.” The voice came from the kitchen, a fortunate coincidence. Bill hefted the six bags he’d been managing and maneuvered around the trinkets. The hardwood floors were shiny but not slippery and Bill was leaving scuff marks everywhere, somewhere inside he felt a twinge of guilt at it; that was new. The kitchen wasn’t modern but certainly not retro either. It was warm, in shades of red and yellow and the cabinets were a cherrywood to match. Bill often thought McGucket would have made a decent interior designer if inventing ever blew up in his face.

McGucket wasn’t a tall man. He was shorter then Bill at least. His brown hair was starting to gray but his face was young, he hardly wrinkled and aside from his eyeglasses he hadn’t changed much in the years since Bill had started bringing his groceries. If there were a word to describe the older man Bill would say mousey, he was skittish and tended to glance around as if he were always looking for an escape. Once Bill had gone into the library to track down his pay for the day and found McGucket with several books open and what looked to be a very complicated looking birdcage. His hands never twitched and his eyes were focused on the task at hand. Despite the intensity Bill had never seen the man more at ease then when he was inventing.

“It’s me. I’m back for the summer, I’ll be leaving again before you know it.” Bill placed the bags on the table where the other man was having a mug of coffee.

“Such a shame, you’re a good kid, Bill.” Bill almost dropped the bag of rice he was putting away but managed just to make it look as if it were too heavy. McGucket was at his side in an instant, casually lifting the bag to it’s intended spot. “Sit down, have some coffee, I made your favorite.”

He did as he was asked, sitting at the table and watching as the older man went about pulling out a mug and preparing the hot drink the way Bill liked it. It was only Bill second year away from home, his second time away from McGucket and yet he had forgotten how easy the man was with him. Not even his own family could drop such a nice word so casually without sounding off. Yet, when McGucket said it he was inclined to believe him.

The coffee was followed by a freshly made donut, cinnamon brown sugar sprinkled on the top. Bill had always loved them. This wasn’t new, McGucket always seemed to spoil him a little but why did it all suddenly feel like to much. He felt undeserving.

“Thank you,” Bill muttered before taking a sip of the drink and letting his shoulders relax at the taste.

“Least I could do for my favorite delivery boy.” McGucket always had a faint accent when he talked, it was similar to Krystin’s but less formal. Bill had never asked if McGucket was also from the south.

“I’m your only delivery boy as far as they tell me,” Bill said around a bite of donut. “You ever gonna tell me where you get your groceries when I’m not around, old man?”

McGucket laughed, his eyes glanced at the window to his greenhouse for a brief moment before coming back to Bill. “Trade secret, but don’t you worry about me, Bill, I take care of myself pretty well.”

The sound of bags rustling took over while McGucket took things out a put them where they belong. It was normally Bill’s job, he didn’t usually mind since he had time to converse with the other man while he was at it.

“How’s that aunt of yours doing?” There it was.

McGucket never failed to ask after Aunt Mo and Stanley. He’d often pestered the older man, asking if he had a crush on his aunt and wanted to be called Uncle Mc-G. It was all fun in games but the man had always been adamant about never having any other ulterior motive then to see that everyone was okay. Which still struck Bill as odd considering he never asked about anyone else in town. Save for the one time Bill had crushed on Red and he’d made the mistake of mentioning it to the old man.

“She’s alright, her hair is getting whiter, her skin wrinklier. So is Stan though, maybe it’s a Guardian thing. They seem to always be in tandem.”

McGucket hmm-ed under his breath, sitting back at the table now that all the groceries were finished being put away. There were a few whiskers on his chin, had they been there before?

“I suppose it’s a good thing for certain Guardians to follow so closely to the age of their charge, it makes sense.”

Bill tilted his head in curiosity. “Think so?”

“Oh sure. Guardians need to follow wherever their charges go and fend off any and all dangers.”

“Right, so it would make sense if they were bigger and stronger.” Bill thought back to the conversation with his brother that morning. Perhaps he could still convince Dipper to see reason and trasform if his sister won’t.

“No, no. It’s not about being stronger. See, a Guardian doesn’t got to change their shape at all to do any of those things but Humans are so fragile. You all have a tendency of forgetting your own limits and forgoing danger when a protector is at your side.”

“We.”

“Pardon?” McGucket raised a brow.

“We, you know as in we are fragile. I don’t want to be accused of being the only fragile on in the room.”

“Oh, right, of course. We are very fragile.” McGucket corrected, flashing his normally crooked smile. “My point is that if we have a reminder of humanity standing beside us we would have a tendency to take care of ourselves more. We are relating to this reflection of humanity. By fearing for our Guardian who has relatively none we would then fear for ourselves, hereby keeping the human charge safer.”

* * *

 

Dot lounged against a tree, he was flicking dandelion fluff off their stalks. Beside him Mabel was intertwining daisies together in a long chain. Her fingers were careful but quick, a practiced movement that would have been impossible for Dot whose fingers were only quick at a keyboard. Dipper was still standing a ways off where Bill had left him. He was cross-legged and jotting in his journal again. His green eyes, however, kept flitting up to the door of the house.

“Mabel,” Dot began, “I think I want to go back home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also note that most chapters are going to start having these splits. The last fic was very Dot-centric and so now that I have more characters to focus on and a story that requires all their voices we will be flitting back and forth. Good luck!

**Author's Note:**

> If you're confused about the italics at the end, I used to song Scars by Papa Roach as the title and it's literally a song that all 4 of the main characters can relate to so I had to put that in.
> 
> Well tell me how you guys are doing. Questions, comments I'm open.


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